Thanksgiving travel under way

Wednesday

Nov 21, 2012 at 6:00 AMNov 21, 2012 at 2:04 PM

By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

As motorists inch their way through traffic jams heading in and out of Massachusetts this Thanksgiving week, the eyes of the state Department of Transportation will be on them.“We've just deployed additional cameras to monitor traffic conditions,” said Transportation Administrator Frank DePaola.

The Transportation Department has added 10 new cameras along the Massachusetts Turnpike, mounted on mobile variable signboards that will be deployed along the state's highways. The new cameras will add to the state's 750 cameras already in place, of which 234 are available for public viewing online.

“With these, we will be able to give people early notification of any incidents,” Mr. DePaola said.

This morning, state police in Charlton report few problems on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Whether an accident or a traffic back-up, its is hoped the Transportation Department's Highway Operations Center in South Boston will get an early warning of any problems, allowing state police to be called if needed and for information to be displayed on electronic message boards for motorists.

Mr. DePaola said the message boards, including those with cameras on them, have been placed along the highway as of yesterday to assist in today's expected traffic crush.

With traffic jams and delays always expected on state highways this time of year, Mr. DePaola said the state is working to find new and better ways to reach drivers with information they may need to safely find their way in or out of the state. He said that the state is also looking at smartphone technology for better ways to improve the driving experience for motorists in the state. He said while sending drivers texts of traffic information would be unsafe and unacceptable, the state is looking to private industry for phone applications that would be safe and useful.

“We'll provide a lot of data and let the private industry people put it to use,” he said.

Mr. DePaola said he envisions the development of some type of hands-free technology that uses synthetic voice capabilities of cellphones to let motorists know when there is a hazard ahead. Also being developed is the ability to track motorists using blue tooth capabilities in cellphones. This could show how fast vehicles are getting from one point on the highway to another. It would help transportation officials pinpoint traffic delays.

To reduce traffic obstacles, the state will suspend construction projects on major highways beginning at noon today. Construction will resume at the start of business on Monday. Also, between 3 and 4 p.m. today at the Allston-Brighton interchange on the turnpike, tolls will be free, courtesy of Plymouth Rock Assurance Co. Other toll booths on the Massachusetts Turnpike will be open and operating. To reduce backups, extra toll takers will be assigned to ensure all booths are fully staffed.

Sara Lavoie, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, said motorists who decide at the last minute that they would like an easier trip through the tolls may purchase a preloaded E-Z Pass for $20 at any Gulf Oil stores along the turnpike. The pass comes loaded with $20 — enough to travel the length of the turnpike three times. Those who purchase the pass need to register it with the state within three days to avoid being fined for toll booth violations when the $20 runs out.

Based on projections by a firm hired by AAA to forecast holiday traffic, anything that can be done to improve travel conditions this year will be helpful. Mary Maguire of AAA of Southern New England said the number of people traveling 50 miles or more for the holiday is expected to increase for the fourth year in a row. AAA's 2012 Thanksgiving travel forecast prepared by I.H.S.Global Insight projects that $43.6 million people will be taking to the roads, skies and using other modes of transportation to join their families and friends for a Thanksgiving feast. The forecast is developed by HIS Global Insight by interviewing a cross-section of people around the country about their travel plans.

Thanksgiving is the busiest travel holiday of the year and this year numbers are expected to increase by 300,000.

Holiday travel bottomed out in 2008, when only 37.8 million people were willing to spend travel money at a time when the economy was beginning to collapse.

“The economy is slowly recovering and spending is increasing,” Ms. Maguire said. “I think the travel forecast reflects that people feel more empowered to travel.”

Weather is not expected to be a factor for travelers this year, especially in New England. There is also good news on the gasoline price front. Although gasoline prices are up significantly from last year, and remain higher than the national average, there has been a seven cent per gallon drop in prices over the past two weeks. Ms. Maguire said the prices in the latest AAA survey released Monday are on average three-cents per gallon lower than a week ago. She said that although the average price of self-serve regular of $3.58 per gallon is much higher than the $3.33 per gallon prices motorists enjoyed a year ago, the falling prices may have people more willing to spend on travel. If they look hard enough, motorists can find gas for as low as $3.45 per gallon at some stations.

Motorists traveling through New York and New Jersey are advised to gas up before heading through those states, which are continuing to recover from Hurricane Sandy. Ms. Maguire added that motorists traveling from Massachusetts would do well to gas up before heading into Connecticut.

“The prices in Connecticut are higher,” she said.

Overall, air travel is expected to be slightly less than last year, but Logan International Airport is projecting a slight increase over the 868,000 passengers who used the airport last year. Air travelers should plan ahead, getting to the airport a minimum of 2-1/2 hours early for domestic flights or three hours for international flights.